Providing the driver of a vehicle with the best possible view and the maximum field of vision from the driver's seat has long been a primary concern in the manufacturing of vehicles. The cab portion of a vehicle typically has many windows, including a front windshield, side windows, and a back window, which provide a view of all directions surrounding the vehicle. Nevertheless, the driver spends most of his time looking through the windshield to observe the road and other objects in the path of the vehicle.
A problem encountered in the operation of a vehicle is maintaining the windshield free from debris that gathers on the windshield's outer surface as the vehicle travels down the road. Frequently insects, road debris, and other airborne objects impact and collect upon the windshield. As the debris accumulates on the windshield, the driver's visibility through the windshield becomes increasingly impaired. This problem becomes even more acute when the vehicle is driven over long distances at highway speeds.
Deflector shields, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,015,517 and 3,831,696, have been designed to minimize the collection of debris on a windshield. These deflector shields direct the airflow above the hood and windshield of a vehicle so that insects and other airborne debris pass over the hood and windshield, instead of impacting and collecting on the windshield. These deflectors have the adverse side effect of creating an additional obstacle in front of the vehicle which diminishes the driver's field of vision. Most of these deflectors are made, however, of a transparent, see-through material to minimize this adverse effect.
Another problem vehicle operators have commonly faced is the difficulty of observing low-profile objects immediately in front of the vehicle. Normally, the driver cannot see what, if any, objects are located immediately in front of the vehicle because of the obstructed view created by the engine hood. This problem is magnified in the case of large, industrial-sized trucks because of the large engine and corresponding hood size. To be sure, the driver must take the time to get out and walk around to the front of the vehicle to determine if there are any objects in front of the vehicle.
Attempts have been made to improve the driver's range of vision in front of a motor vehicle by using a combination of mirrors, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,918,802 and 4,436,372. Such mirror arrangements are complex and require mounting separate, multiple mirrors on the front of the vehicle.
Still another problem faced by vehicle operators is the difficulty of viewing objects at the sides of the vehicle. This problem has traditionally been solved by mounting standard side-view mirrors on the sides of the vehicle. Such arrangements require the driver to turn his head in the direction of the side he wishes to see and look into the particular mirror. This diverts the driver's attention from what is happening in front of the vehicle and can therefore be dangerous. In addition, a side-view mirror is usually mounted on each side of the vehicle which detracts from the vehicle's aerodynamic efficiency.
There have been other previous efforts to combine mirrors with a deflector shield to improve the driver's field of vision. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,683 shows a pair of mirrors mounted on a deflector shield to enable the driver to see around blind corners of intersections being approached by the vehicle.